February 2018 Newsletter

Government passes ‘Healthy Homes’ bill, requiring all rentals to be warm and dry

Phil Twyford’s Healthy Homes bill passes.

After several tries in opposition, the new Government have passed a law requiring rentals to be warm, dry, and well ventilated.

The law will require landlords to guarantee that any new tenancy from July 1, 2019 must be either properly insulated or contain a heating source able to make the home warm and dry. All tenancies must meet the new standards by July 1, 2024.

The exact requirements are not in the bill, but will be set by the Government before 2019. Grants of up to $2000 will be available for eligible landlords to upgrade their stock.

Under the previous law rentals were only required to be insulated – by the same date in 2019 – if it was practicable, with 100,000 homes excluded from the requirement.

“This law enables the Government to set standards for rental housing quality. The Healthy Homes standards will cover heating, insulation, ventilation, draught stopping, drainage and moisture. Many landlords will already meet these standards and will not have to change anything. For those that need to upgrade their properties, government grants for installing heating and insulation will be available.”

“The Government will run a consultation process over the next 18 months to ensure that tenants, landlords, public health and building science experts and industry representatives have an opportunity to get involved in creating robust minimum standards” Mr Twyford says.

Twyford’s Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill was first drawn from the Parliamentary ballot in 2013, but was struck down at its first reading. Then-Labour leader Andrew Little introduced a second version, which made it through its second reading with the votes of every party except ACT and National. This allowed Labour to pick up the bill, modify it, and pass it relatively quickly.

The bill passed 63 votes to 57, once again opposed National and ACT.

It has not been made clear exactly what heating must be provided in our Rental Properties, so to be prepared Tauranga Rentals are getting quotes for Heat Pumps for every property that does not currently have any form of heating.

It will take us a few months to get through every property so if you would rather provide heating earlier please let us know.